Hurricane bombardment

The bombardments of several days that preceded attacks in 1915–1917 gave away the point of attack: defenders sat them out in deep dugouts and brought up reserves. A short bombardment of great density was meant to stun and paralyse the defence just long enough for the infantry to cross no man's land. At Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 the British fired for 35 minutes, at Gorlice in May 1915 the Germans for about four hours, and at Bazentin on the Somme in July 1916 five minutes were enough.

The method was refined by the German Colonel Georg Bruchmüller: firing from maps without registration, successive phases against communications, artillery and trenches, gas, and finally a creeping barrage. It was used at Riga in 1917 and in the spring offensive of 1918. The German Trommelfeuer, or drumfire, meant fire so dense that the explosions merged into a drumroll; it could go on for hours.